Definition of Adynaton
Adynaton comes from the Greek word adunaton, which means “impractical” or “impossible”. It is a rhetorical device that is a form of hyperbole in which exaggeration is taken to an extreme where it seems impossible, that is, when hyperbole is magnified to such an extent that it is completely unworkable, it is called adynaton. The use of adynaton is exaggerated to emphasize something.
Adynaton and Hyperbole
Adynaton is a kind of hyperbole, although it is an extreme form. When hyperbole reaches an extreme level, which is actually completely impossible, it is called adynaton. presented as an exaggerated comparison or contrast.
Examples of Adynaton in literature
Example # 1: To his shy lover (By Andrew Marvell)
“If we had enough world and time
This shyness, ma’am, it would not be a crime.
We would sit and think which way
To walk And spend the day of our long love.
You by the side of the Indian Ganges
You should find rubies; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would love you ten years before the flood and you should please refuse until the conversion of the Jews. ”
To say that a lady’s“ shyness ”is a crime, in the first bold sentence above, is clearly adinaton, since no legislator would be. crazy enough to pass a law that criminalizes shyness.
The bold phrase, “Until the conversion of the Jews” refers to predictions about the conversion of Jews to Christianity, which have been made by many for centuries. the world has come and gone, a conversion of the Jews has not occurred, and there is no sign of it happening.
Example # 2: Macbeth (By William Shakespeare)
“Where are those blows from?
How are you with me when every noise
What hands are here? Ha! They gouge out my eyes.
Will the whole great ocean of Neptune wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will prefer
The crowded seas in Encarnadine,
Making the green red … ”
In these lines, an effective use of adynaton is evident. The tragic hero “Macbeth” feels guilty after murdering King Duncan. He feels a lot of regret. that even the great oceans cannot wash the blood of the king from his hands. On the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
I will love you until the ocean
It bent and hung to dry
And the seven stars squawk
Like geese in the sky … ”40a4
The poet expresses his love by exaggerating that the continents of China and Africa are They will find, a river will jump over a mountain, fish will sing in the street, and the ocean will bend and hang to dry. They are extreme exaggerations, which are impossible in real life.
Example # 4: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
“Why then, oh quarrelsome love, oh loving hate,
nothing, create nothing first!
heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Chaos deformed into good-looking shapes … lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
I dream still awake, that’s not what it is!
I feel this love, I don’t feel love in this.
Don’t you laugh? In this fragment, Romeo compares his love with several things: he mixes love with hate, mixes the beautiful with the ugly, the hot with the cold, the dark with the bright, etc. He also labels love as fighting love and loving hate. they are also great exaggerations of love. pieces already written in the classical and medieval periods; however, examples of adynaton are seen in modern-day folklore, drama, and fiction. In everyday conversation, adynaton’s job is to create fun effects by highlighting an idea. used for both comic and serious purposes. By using outlandish statements, poets and writers make ordinary human feelings extraordinary.
